Bill Roecker for FishingVideos.com & the San Diego Sportfishing Council – Net Update December 8, 2008

A 350 On 80-Pound: Skipper Was Happy

Rick Kelly docked Intrepid at Pt. Loma Sportfishing December 8 after a ten-day trip to southern Baja. He was there the day the big ones bit, and one of those supercows found its way onboard the fleet’s newest boat, a 116-footer. The giant yellowfin weighed 350.2 pounds on the certified scales at the dock.

Marc Schmidt - 350.2# Yellowfin Tuna

“We were real happy with these,” said Kelly.

The big fish was caught by Marc Schmidt of Eureka, whose best previous tuna was a 30-pounder. The rookie long ranger said it took an hour and 45 minutes to boat the monster. He did it without too much help to win the jackpot, and he credited the crew with making it possible.

“It was on a long soak,” said Schmidt, “about 8:30 in the morning.”

He baited a sardine on a 6/0 ringed Super Mutu hook, tied it to 80-pound Big Game line and 130-pound Line One Spectra on a Penn 30 VSX reel and a Seeker 660 XH rod.

Ed Quinten of La Costa would have taken second place with his 296-pounder, but he had some help and had to settle for third place for a 102-pounder. He brought the big tuna into the lineup shot, and parked it next to Schmidt’s monster. It made two fish over 200 pounds for the trip.

Laurens Rhinelander of San Diego won second place for a 151-pound tuna, and stood at the right with his fish in the lineup.

Intrepid Jackpot Winners

The Big Three

It was a big day when the big fish bit, and a big day at the docks when they began arriving. Independence was the next boat in on December 8, and three supercows were carted up to the head of the dock at Pt. Loma Sportfishing. Skipper Mark Pisano had his partner Paul Strasser aboard to help on the ten-day trip with 28 anglers, and the pair brought home a total of five tuna over 200 pounds including the big three.

Independence Jackpot Winners

The kite provided the best pair of tuna on the trip. On his first long range run, Keith Strehle of San Diego found a 338.8-pound yellowfin. His best before that was a 50-pounder.

“He boiled on my sardines, said Keith. “It was an impressive take. He ran out and then went down, and he took me around the boat five times.”

Ben Arellano of Bonita bagged a 313.2-pounder on the same kite rig. Those two fish were ineligible for the jackpot because the kite rotation went unfinished, said Pisano.

“My best before was a 200-pounder,” said Ben. “I saw him bite. He went out 200 yards and came back. Then he fought me for 50 minutes.”

Rick Berg of Saratoga completed an extremely rare triple-header of super cows when he presented his 300.4-pounder at the scales. He got first place for his flylined fish.

“My 100-pound line got stretched out,” he told Bill Roecker, “so I went to the 80-pound.”
Berg’s was the second 300-pounder to come on 80-pound the same day. He gave Roecker a pad with the information about his tackle, but the pad fell out of Roecker’s notebook somewhere on the dock. Hopefully it can be retrieved again later.

Mike Steele of San Diego won second place for a 221-pounder that came on a mackerel, a 9/0 Super Mutu hook and the boat’s heavy rig. Reny Endozo of San Diego got third place for a 208-pounder.

Performance Tackle Trip

Qualifier 105 Jackpot Winners

Qualifier 105 returned to Pt. Loma Sportfishing December 8 after a ten-day Performance Tackle trip with 26 anglers. Eric Weldele was the skipper.

Kevin Varnell of Aurora, CO won first place for a 216-pound tuna, the only cow that found the boat.

“He bit around two p.m.,” said Varnell. “He my best fish by far, the best one before was a 140-pounder, on this trip a couple of years ago. I give the crew credit for this one.”

Keith said he baited a mackerel on a 9/0 Eagle Claw hook, tied to 120-pound Triple Fish leader and 130-pound Izorline Spectra. He used a Penn 50 reel by Baker and Ken Corwin, and a Calstar 6465 XXH rod built by Corwin, who owns Ken’s Custom Reels in Oceanside.

Rudy Vantine of Santa Barbara won second place for a 160-pounder, and Curtis Owens of Los Alamitos took third place for a 122-pounder.

Vagabond Takes Five

Vagabond Jackpot Winners

Mike Lackey brought his Vagabond home to Pt. Loma Sportfishing after a ten-day trip. One of the five cows he found for his anglers nearly made the magic 300-pound mark. The 297-pound whopper yellowfin was caught by John Bounds of Peyton, CA on a mackerel pinned to a 6/0 Gamakatsu hook.

“He ran out to 350 yards on me,” said Bounds, “and then he stopped and rushed the boat. I had to reel as fast as I could. He fought for an hour and 40 minutes.”

John said he used 100-pound Soft Steel Ultra line and 130-pound Power Pro Spectra on a Tiagra 30 reel and a Seeker five and a half-foot Black Steel rod.

Kirk Drickman of Westlake Village, a Vagabond regular angler, got a 285-pounder for second place. Kirk said he baited a sardine on an 8/0 Eagle claw ringed hook to get his best-ever fish. He tied the hook to 100-pound Jin Kai leader and 130-pound Izorline Spectra, on a Penn 50 SW reel and a Calstar 6455 XXH rod.

Mike Toetter of San Diego won third place for a 246-pounder that cleaned his clock for two hours and ten minutes.

“It was the hardest fish I ever got,” he remarked at the scales.

Mike baited a mackerel on a 9/0 Eagle Claw hook tied to 100-pound Blackwater fluorocarbon leader and 130-pound Line One Spectra. He used Sato crimps, a Penn 30 reel by Baker and Cal Sheets, and an M&M rod, a Calstar 7465 M.

Steve Meinster of Van Nuys caught a 229-pounder on a 9/0 ringed Super Mutu hook holding a mackerel bait. He used 100-pound Big Game line and 130-pound Izorline Spectra on a Penn 50 S reel by Cal Sheets and a Calstar 655 XXXH rod, and got the job done in an hour and 15 minutes.

Jack Coons of San Diego will turn 80 in March, he said. He caught a 205-pounder on a sardine and an 8/0 Eagle Claw hook. He fished with 130-pound Seaguar fluorocarbon leader and 130-pound Izorline Spectra on a TLD 50 reel and a Super Seeker 6465 XXH rod.